LOL! I loved the comic...cracked me up...and don't worry about the being stupid...no education ever prepares a women on a man making her stupid...it's in our genes!!! The good news is al tikrar ye3alem el 7emar (tukrimeen)...so one day we'll get it right..hopefully!

Unknown Eh, bad relationship poetry - not to be confused with the stuff I'm studying for my exams :)I was just amazed at how idiotic I can be when it comes to men - oh well, you live and learn.

tata Thanks, it's all good, I'm hiring a hitman as we speek. That strip always cracks me up -especially considering America is failing the war on drugs miserably. I love 'found art' comic strips :)

moe I'm not a scientist but even I know that quantum mechanics can be just as dicey as religion when it comes to sticking to the facts ;)And I blame no one but myself for my mistakes. I just hope the next fella I meet will be as forgiving about my past as I would be about his :P

sponty Glad to know I'm not the only one :)

MissCosmo You're probably right - it's amazing how I was ready to throw all logic out of the window just to make someone happy. Ya3ni I'm a teacher, I study words for a living, you'd think I'd be able to tell when someone is BSing me - bloody ironic.

Cool poem :) & funky comic strip :P I always liked pronouncing the 'j' in marijuana like that shrink in South Park! Recently, been giving it a Latin twist: mari-kh-wana ;P Not that I use the term that often..

anon PhD in English Lit. I know, I should have better writing skills for someone who's studying English, but most of my post are done when I'm really tired on the way to bed :P

temetwir I'm glad you found the humor in it :)

qatar Idiocy happens to the best of us - you just need to be in the right situation for it to come out ;)

7tenths Thanks! I do the same! You should consider watching this weird musical movie called "Reefer Madness" (it's a spoof of the original documentary) - it's one of my favourite movies concerning marriage-wanna :P (well, that and Cheech and Chong's 'Up in Smoke').

I have felt just as dumb... it's quite alright. But perhaps Petrarch, the father of Humanism, who brought Europe out of the dark ages sums it up best in his first sonnet in the Canzoniere.

You who hear the sound, in scattered rhymes, of those sighs on which I fed my heart,in my first vagrant youthfulness,when I was partly other than I am,

I hope to find pity, and forgiveness,for all the modes in which I talk and weep,between vain hope and vain sadness,in those who understand love through its trials.

Yet I see clearly now I have becomean old tale amongst all these people, so thatit often makes me ashamed of myself;

and shame is the fruit of my vanities,and remorse, and the clearest knowledgeof how the world's delight is a brief dream.

Finally, My dearest Mcarabian, the fact that you may have been fooled... is not inconsistent with your intellect. Montaigne wrote in his essay "On the inconstancy of our actions" :

We are entirely made up of bits and pieces, woven together so diversely and so shapelessly that each one of them pulls its own way at every moment. And that there is so much difference between us and ourselves as their is between us and other people.

Truly, Misguided

P.S. Forgive the long post.. I just hope you find some solace in those words.

First of all, welcome back! I hope you had a good time :) A Petrarchan sonnet; I'm impressed and a little flattered :) My feelings of anger are stronger than my feelings of shame so with your permission, I will counter your lovely Italian sonnet with a Dorothy Parker poem that exemplifies my current situation:

If I had a shiny gun,I could have a world of funSpeeding bullets through the brainsOf the folk who give me pains;

Or had I some poison gas,I could make the moments passBumping off a number ofPeople whom I do not love.

But I have no lethal weapon-Thus does Fate our pleasure step on!So they still are quick and wellWho should be, by rights, in hell.

I do love the Montaigne quote though - it did clear up my confusion on why it was so easy for me to get duped. Thanks :)

Ok. I'm lost. Then again, I just woke up. But it gave my day a good kickstart.one and one makes two? ugh? what about that theory that's symobolized by the "Aleph" sign? infinite numbers between any two numbers? forgot the name of that theory...*goes back to sleep*

After readng your post and comments, I could only sigh deeply in empathy with what you are likely feeling. As a woman with a smattering of letters after her own name denoting what should be her own bit of sagacity and savoir faire, I can tell you that the letters mean nothing. The years of rubbing elbows and picking the brains of brainiacs, the dissertations, publications and thesis defenses have nothing to do with getting your heart broken ( or kicked around a bit).

I have unlearned, over time, many things. One example: that family name, title, educational status, wealth, or superficially apparent high moral character is an indication of greatness of mind and spirit, or better yet, greatness of heart. Often, very "nice" and "well bred" "educated" people will not just judge you for a youthful circumstance you could not control or had the misfortune to be mistaken about, but will sadly sell you and your heart out (should they have it)because of it, despite their being littered with their own blatant flaws. Another lesson UNlearned :Many people are too goodhearted to choose their own self preservation at your expense, since they know it is unjust to do so and would not like the same done unto them. They will not want to cause you great heartbreak. The reality is that they will likely revert to stereotype and self preservation when their high and mighty principles are challenged and put to the test.

This is not true of all people, but a great many.

In spite of having said this, I actually have a lot of faith that there are wonderful, truly good souls and kindred spirits out there who give me an abundance of hope :)

Believe in your own honesty of intention, your own purity of heart in whatever actions you may have taken in the past. Whatever has happened to you previously, or whatever mistakes you made and learned from, all make you what you are today. You are definitely a lady to be respected and admired :).

Take care of yourself MacArabian. You are not alone in what you are going through/have gone through.

charisma It's not a romantic story. In fact, I don't really believe in romance :P

Dear msbaker

Your words are wonderful as always. And you're right, I'm not the first and I probably won't be the last to have been messed with by a man. I just always figured that I was too smart to fall for it (considering how I was always one of those 'one of the guys' kind of girl). I thought I knew everything there is to know about Kuwaiti men ;)

I think my anger stems from me being disappointed in myself rather than at being betrayed. But I'm also aware that I'm lucky in the sense that I have a great support system both online and offline. I've already begun the process of dusting myself off and focusing my energies on something worthwhile.

Thank you ever so much for your kind words (and this goes out to everyone, not just msbaker). It's always good to be reminded that there are decent, and loving people out there :)

McArabia: isn't it amusing how we're so tough against the world, and we vow never to allow anyone to talk down to us/make us feel worthless, yet a guy comes along, does that.. and then what?

we pretend it was a one time thing, we forgive & move on.. but then it happens again.. till it gets to a point where we convince ourselves it's just a flaw in his personality & we can live with it... until the day comes where either we get fed up & walk out.. or when we find ourselves miserable, with no exit path!! :/

hmm.. i went a little over board, but i guess this is a sensitive topic.. good luck.. & never let anyone make u feel anything less than what ur really worth! remember, if they do it once, they'll prolly do it again.. unless u put a stop to it!